Later, Loser
by Dysphoniq
Summary: The Heylin forces have finally concocted a plan to bring about their 10,000 years of darkness. Separated from her friends, Kimiko needs help to rescue what remains of the Xiaolin side. Of course, this means teaming up with the last person she wants to trust - Jack Spicer.
1. Chapter 1

It has been several long years, but the battle between the monks and evil rages onward. The greater of the evils (namely Chase Young, Hannibal Bean, and Wuya) have been quiet lately, and even Jack Spicer has stopped showing up to Wu spottings. The monks are growing weary as the days trek onward, so when two Shen Gong Wu activate at the same time, it doesn't alarm them. We start with Kimiko and Raimundo, dropped in South America while Dojo and the other two monks continue on to the northern continent.

* * *

A/N: Okay, so I apologize for the exceedingly sappy introduction. But, based upon the fact that you've stuck with it this far, I suppose you'd want to read the story instead of listening to the author ramble, so I'll make it quick. I wanted to get this story out before Xiaolin Chronicles in the spring. And while Jackkim isn't necessarily my OTP, I see potential in it, so I'm sticking with it. Plus, Jack is my favorite character, so he gets some perks because of it. Anyway, that's all I really had to say. Carry on, and I'll meet you at the end. Happy reading.

* * *

"I think we should definitely check this side of the river too." Kimiko pointed out, already feeling the heat pressing on her from all sides.

"Ugh, fine, we'll split up. You take the north, I'll take the south." Raimundo dictated, leaping and flipping over the stream. Kimiko shook her head at his antics. Ever since he had been promoted to Shoku warrior a few years ago, he was more and more confident with his decisions. Not that it was a bad thing, he usually was right, and he still cared about what the others thought.

She set off on her own, determined to find the Shen Gong Wu as quickly as possible. Dojo had taken Clay and Omi to find the other Wu, meaning that, as soon as they were done, she and Rai would be picked up. The sooner that was, the better off everyone would be. She had been in the forest for less than five minutes and she was already irritated by the temperature and humidity.

Leaping up into a tree, she attempted to get a vantage point and see if she couldn't spot the Wu from above. Scaling several dozen feet, she found a perch and sat down. She wiped some sweat off of her face, and then took off the heavy jacket she had put on that morning. Scratching at her head, she wished that she hadn't chosen such a thick wig. Deciding there was nothing she could do right now besides speed up the process of finding the Shen Gong Wu, she scaled a few more branches. She was doing well until a branch gave away beneath her hands, and she let out a yelp before she managed to catch herself several branches below.

A short cackle from nearby gave her pause as she regained her balance. Flipping onto the branch and getting her feet back under her, she looked over to see Jack laughing at her from a nearby tree.

"Spicer. I haven't seen your ugly mug in a while." Kimiko taunted, ready to attack.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it shorty. You've missed me, I know." Jack said, sitting on a branch in the opposite tree. Jack Spicer had grown up in the last few years. He was still gastly pale, rocked the same emo-punk look, and even wore the same eyeliner. He had, however, taken up martial arts, actually matching the monks in speed and strength. In the last few years, he had been collecting nearly as many Shen Gong Wu as all the monks combined. He no longer seemed interested in doting upon his idols, but decided to do things his own way.

"In your dreams, Spicer. I was enjoying every second I had away from your irritating voice." Kimiko responded. A few months back, Jack had stopped showing up to Wu spottings. Since the other forces of evil never even attempted to collect them, the monks had turned into mere errand boys. As much as she hated to admit it, Kimiko had missed Jack, if only for the thrill of a fight.

"Awww, and here I thought we were going to have a moment. Straighten your wig, Tohomiko, I'm not even here for the Wu." He said. Kimiko noticed that she was still in a fighting stance, and forced herself to calm down. It was just Jack, for Pete's sake. He didn't even seem to have any robots with him.

"Then why are you here?" She asked, subconsciously letting her guard down. Jack wasn't exactly one to set elaborate traps, so she didn't really worry.

"As a matter of fact, I was here on business, when I happened to see a giant flying dragon drop a couple of my favorite arch-enemies off in the forest." Jack explained, "I thought it would be rude of me if I didn't drop by to say hello."

"So, you have no interest in this Shen Gong Wu at all." Kimiko stated, feeling crestfallen. Without Jack, the monks were just running around picking up magical trinkets at the drop of a hat. The thrill of the chase was gone if you weren't chasing anybody.

Jack picked himself up off his branch and nimbly made his way over to Kimiko's tree. "Let's just say, I've decided to start choosing my battles. You know, start thinking about the big picture. If I wore myself out hunting down the Wu one-on-four, I'd never really win, would I? No, I've decided to be smarter. Live up to my 'evil genius' title." He sat down on a branch facing Kimiko. She stared daggers into him as he made himself comfortable.

"Well, while the explanation is all nice and dandy, I'll be heading off." She said, readying herself to leap down to the ground.

"Nuh-uh-uh, not so fast," Jack called, halting her in her tracks. "There's more. I do have a warning." Kimiko glared at him warily. "Something's coming. It's going to be big. It would be best if you monks prepared yourselves."

Kimiko rolled her eyes at him. "If that's all you have to say, Mr. Cryptic, I'll be on my way. We're still interested in mystical items that have the power to destroy the universe, believe it or not."

"Don't say I didn't warn you." Jack said.

"Why ARE you warning me, anyway?" Kimiko questioned.

"Easy. I needed to get the word to you guys, and if I sent a messenger you wouldn't have taken me seriously. And besides, Raimundo was right."

"What do you mean?"

"The Shen Gong Wu was south of the river." He explained, cracking into a grin.

The tension between the two of them was broken when they heard Raimundo calling through the woods. "Well, that's my cue to get going. Later, loser." Jack said, giving Kimiko a small salute as a goodbye. He stepped off the branch and let his helipack carry him away.

Kimiko was still pondering the entire incident when Raimundo came up to her, waving what looked like a tiara. She jumped down off the branch and landed gracefully next to him.

"Well, I got the Wu, so let's phone Dojo and blow this popsicle stand." He said, gesturing for Kimiko to follow him back to where they were dropped off. After a nearly silent trek, he looked over at her. "Yo, girl. You in there?" He asked, waving his hand in front of her face.

"huh? Oh, yeah," Kimiko said, broken from her trance. "It's nothing… let's just get back to the temple. I gotta talk to Master Fung."

* * *

A/N: Okay, so, clearly this was just an introduction for you. There are some more chapters in the works, so let me know what you think. Reviews are ALWAYS appreciated, even if you're just telling me about grammatical errors. Seriously, anything and everything is appreciated. Thanks for reading~! Until next time, Dysphoniq.


	2. Chapter 2

Jack's house was silent as he landed in the yard and walked inside. His parents were gone on a trip and he had the entire mansion to himself. He was used to it though, and marched his way directly to the basement, where his robots flickered to life.

He made his way to his computer and sat down. '_So_,' he thought '_The monks don't know anything.'_ He pulled up his cameras and was greeted with the sight of Chase's evil lair. It reminded him, yet again, of the entire ordeal a few weeks ago.

He had been keeping tabs on the other Heylin forces for a while, but nothing of importance seemed ever seemed to happen. That is, until they brought Master Monk Guan back kicking and screaming. A massive battle ensued, and Master Monk Guan managed to hold his own for quite some time, until Hannibal and Wuya finally got some Lao Mang Long into him. Jack shuddered as he remembered the horrible transformation that took place, scales and claws ripping through the poor man's skin.

Then Chase turned to look right into Jack's bot, and declared that this was the beginning of his ten thousand years of darkness. The feed cut out entirely.

Although Jack didn't want to admit it, he was scared. He stopped focusing on the Wu and started focusing on uncovering their plan. Jack wanted to rule the world, but he wanted to keep it nice. What was the point of ruling anything if your people were too terrified to acknowledge you as supreme leader?

He was confused, though. The evil forces should have been gathering. The sky should have been darkening. The Jungle cats should have been pining for blood. But they just… weren't. He decided to see if the monks were aware of what was happening. He waited for the next Wu to activate, and then laid in wait for the monks to arrive. As soon as he saw Kimiko on her own, he decided to find out what she knew. He didn't talk to her to warn her, but to judge her reaction. And from what he saw, the monks were even more clueless that he was.

_'So. Where do we go from here?' _ He thought. His pondering was interrupted by an announcement from his computer.

"Talisman of Xian retrieval was successful."

_'Well,'_ Jack thought. _'That makes things a bit easier.'_

* * *

"This is insane. When are they going to finish meditating?" Kimiko complained as she lay out on the ground in front of the meditation hall. She and Raimundo had returned to the temple nearly two hours ago, and she still hadn't gotten the chance to speak to Master Fung.

"Relax. I'm sure it's important, whatever they're doing. Besides, I think I see Dojo bringing Clay and Omi back." Raimundo said, pointing to the horizon behind Kimiko. It didn't take long for the dragon to bring the heart-broken monks to the temple grounds.

"You guys look beat up. What happened?" Raimundo asked as they hopped off the dragon.

"Spicer's bots came to the hoe-down, that's what happened." Clay explained "There were just too many of them. I couldn't even see the Wu."

"It was most troublesome." Omi pitched in. "Especially after Jack's leave of absence. I believe we should be on our fingers from now on."

"It's on your _toes_, Omi." Raimundo corrected absent-mindedly. The gang was interrupted by Master Fung exiting the building behind them.

"Master Fung!" Kimiko exclaimed "I have something important to tell you."

"If concerns the upcoming threat of evil, we have already been informed. Come, young monks, follow me." With that he led them to the room where the ancient scrolls where kept.

Pulling a scroll from its place, Master Fung laid it out on the table. Enthralled, the young monks gathered around. Looking at the enchanted pictures, they saw utter chaos and destruction throughout the lands. It was the nightmare none of them wanted to see: the 10,000 years of darkness.

"The evil forces are tiding their resources." Master Fung began to explain. "They have been lying in wait. A major shift has occurred in the balance of good and evil. We believe that Chase, Hannibal, and Wuya might be staging a major battle in the near future."

"So, what are we doing to stop it?" Raimundo asked. "Stage a preemptive attack?"

"I do not believe that that is a wise move, young warrior. The Heylin forces far outnumber our own." Noticing Raimundo's grumbling, he added, "If you are patient in a moment of anger, you may escape one hundred days of sorrow." The young dragons-in-trainings groaned inwardly at yet another "mystical" proverb from the old man. They began to see how hopeless they were though. If Master Fung said they were outmatched, they had _no_ hope of winning against the forces of evil – did they?

"Well, whatd'ya reckon we do about it then, Master Fung?" Clay asked breaking the silence.

"There's nothing we can do. Nothing besides watch and wait."

* * *

A/N: Oh Master Fung, you're so great at cliffhangers. And hey, look! The other monks~! And their three lines!

I apologize for the short chapter and the lack of anything important. I was writing and it started turning into a ridiculously long chapter, so I thought I'd chop it up for you guys. There will be some plot development in the next chapter, I promise. Until next time, Dysphoniq


	3. Chapter 3

Kimiko panted and shifted her weight. She judged Clay's stance and saw the punch he was about to throw. She ducked underneath his arm, finding a flaw in his carefully crafted defense. She swept his feet out from under him and grabbed his other arm, ensuring that he fell to the floor. As soon as he was down, she felt herself slump, drained by the effort of their battle. Their practice session had run over ten minutes, and since Kimiko's only advantage in this fight was her speed, she was absolutely exhausted. She wiped some sweat off of her forehead and felt the need to take a long, cold shower.

"Kimiko! Clay! You can quit beating each other up, we got food in here!" Raimundo called, gesturing to the dining room where Omi was already gorging himself. It had been weeks since Master Fung's warning, and, while every minutes had been spent training, the monks were beginning to let their guard down. Evil was taking its time with its master plan.

"All right!" Kimiko cheered, starving after that grueling match. She began running toward the meal, turning her head to make sure Clay was following her. What she saw made her stop in her tracks, though. On the temple wall balanced a single black jaguar. She knew that could only mean one thing.

"Chase." She murmured underneath her breath.

Then all hell broke loose.

The cat jumped down from the wall and pounced on Clay, whose back was still turned. Kimiko winced as she saw the its claws dig into his back, drawing blood. A plethora of jungle cats appeared, surrounding the entire temple. Raimundo and Omi rushed outside to see what was going on. There was confusion everywhere, but eventually the others noticed Clay's predicament. Raimundo ran over and managed to wrestle the cat off of him while Omi and Kimiko picked him up, helping him run past the destruction all around and into the temple vault. Raimundo was quick to follow them to the Shen Gong Wu.

Grabbing whatever they could in an attempt to keep it from the Heylin side, they re-emerged, only to find Chase and Wuya standing in the doorway.

"My, my," Wuya chastised, "The monks think their magical knick-knacks are going to save them."

"Funny, coming from the hag that's been hunting them down for over 1500 years." Raimundo taunted in return, taking a step forward.

"Well, yes, but I've seen the error of my ways. There are bigger and better things out there."

"Like what? Waiting on Chase hand and foot? You're pathetic!"

"Listen here, you insolent brat-" Wuya was cut short by Chase stepping forward.

"You can taunt each other all you want later, Wuya. In the meantime, let us finish this squabble and retrieve what we came for. Jungle Cats!" He called, and they entered the room, surrounding the monks. They group of dragons-in-training looked at each other and nodded slightly. Kimiko reached into her bag for her Wudai weapon. Crying out their name, she Launched a few of the Arrow Sparrow into the air. She allowed them to burn brightly, nearly blinding everyone in the room. Clay then used the Third Arm Sash to break through the wall in the confusion. The monks slipped out while the cats were trying to regain their composure.

They were met with the sight of Master Fung and the rest of the monks in cages, sitting peacefully. A look of concern passed Master Fung's face as the gang ran towards their mentors.

"Surely you haven't forgotten about me?" Hannibal Bean asked, revealing himself from behind a building. He grinned as he blocked one of the only exits the monks had left. Throwing himself forward, he tackled Clay, who was at the front of the group, into the ground.

Hannibal had stalled long enough for Chase, Wuya, and the other cats to follow them outside. It quickly turned into an all-out brawl, with Wuya and Raimundo taunting each other and Omi and Chase calling out the names of their various moves. Kimiko was left with keeping most of the jungle cats away from her friends, but with so many of them, it wasn't an easy task. She ducked and weaved, anything to get away from their razor sharp caws, all while letting her element wreak as much havoc as it could. She might be burning down a few of the buildings, but it was worth it if they could just make it out alive.

She turned when she heard Clay scream out in pain. She saw him underneath a cat that was nearly twice his size, and surrounded by nearly a dozen more. They had managed to rip the length of his sleeve, and blood was dripping everywhere. She managed to distract a few of them by setting fire to their coats, when she heard Rai scream her name.

Turning around again, she saw a cat barreling straight towards her face. Then Raimundo's body was in front of her, forming a barrier between the claws and her body. She took a moment trying to discern what happened. Raimundo seemed to have escaped from Wuya in just enough time to jump between her and the attacking cat. Gathering her senses, she tried to rush to his aid, but he simply screamed at her to run.

"Find somewhere safe!" He continued. "Get help! Take Dojo and run!" He ordered, still grappling with the warrior cat. He managed to throw her a minute bag, which Kimiko knew to be filled with shrunken Shen Gong Wu. She felt conflicted, seeing her friends so defeated. Wuya was laughing at their state, Chase had just thrown Omi through several solid walls, Clay was hurling boulders at Hannibal to no avail, Master Fung and the other monks sat patiently for the outcome of the battle, and the cats were still everywhere.

"C'mon Kimiko, you heard the man." Dojo said, appearing out of nowhere. He pushed on her legs and she snapped out of her trance. She began running towards the exit, not really knowing where she was going, until her feet were swept out from underneath her.

She had no idea what was going on as she watched the battle disappear farther and farther below her. Her confusion doubled as she looked down and realized that she couldn't even see her own limbs. Nothing was harming her, but she watched in dismay as her friends shrank into the distance. She was at a loss for words. That is, until Jack Spicer spoke.

"You know, I'm really getting sick of saving Xiaolin butt." He said. Kimiko couldn't see him, but he sounded close.

"J-Jack?" She asked, confused. "Where… where are you? What's going on?" She said. She felt another wave of nausea pass as she saw the ground hundreds of feet below her.

"Oh, hold on." Jack said as he fumbled with the controls. Eventually he found the correct switch and flipped it. The aircraft that they were travelling in suddenly became visible, and Kimiko flexed her hands in front of her face to make sure they were there. Slowly standing, she made her way into the passenger seat.

"What's going on?" She asked, confused.

"I'm rescuing you." He stated simply, maneuvering the vehicle around some mountains. "I wanted to grab all of you, but the battle already started. I don't think any of them saw you disappear though."

"I- err- why?" She stammered.

"Why what?"

"Why did you want to rescue us?"

"How many times do I have to explain it to you monks? I want. To rule. The world. If it's in 10,000 years of darkness, how much fun is that going to be?" He stated, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh." She said. She thought about her predicament, and how exactly she was going to get out of this mess.

"So," Dojo said, breaking the silence, "Where exactly are we going here?"

"Oh, you brought the green lizard along. Wonderful." Jack grumbled, looking over.

"LIZARD? I'll show you a lizard, you little pu-" Dojo began, already growing in size.

"Easy, easy, it was a joke. And watch the craft, I just built this thing." He said, concerned that the dragon might grow large enough to break the cockpit open. "We're going back to my place, for your information. We can stay there until we've formed a plan."

"We?" Kimiko pointed out. "_I_ don't need a plan_. I'm_ going back there to get my friends." She said. She was adamant about getting back to her friends and getting them to safety.

"I don't know if you're paying attention here, but we're up against _THE _most powerful Heylin forces in the world. No one's going to beat them alone. So we're going to have to team up, whether you like it or not." He said, putting the plane on autopilot, standing, and grabbing something from the cabinet behind them.

Kimiko thought about what he said. She looked at Dojo. He shrugged, leaving the decision up to her. "Okay, fine!" She snapped. "You'd better not make me regret this."

"Great," said Jack, sounding just about as pleased as she was. He handed her half of the bundle he was holding, which proved to be a school uniform. "By the way, Kimiko, you're a friend from school and we're doing an AP physics project together. Dojo you're going to have to hide for a while. It'll only be for a little bit."

"Wha… why?" Kimiko asked, her mind reeling in an attempt to understand what Jack was saying.

"You're going to meet my parents." Jack simply stated, landing his aircraft on the roof.

* * *

Yay, plot development~! Anyway, I know Jack's coming off a bit too suave, and I promise he'll be back to the sniveling, whiney anti-hero we all know and love. Tata for now, Dysphoniq.


	4. Chapter 4

There was an uncomfortable silence as knives and forks scratched at their plates. Kimko's eyes flickered from Jack, his dad, and his mom as the dinner continued. Finally, it seemed Mr. Spicer had decided it was time for a conversation, and spoke.

"So, Kimiko, you're in AP physics with Jack then?" He asked, putting another carefully cut piece of steak in his mouth.

"Uhh, yeah!" She said, forcing a smile. "We have our project due Wednesday and he said that we could work on it here. I hope I'm not imposing." She added, focusing on her meal. She never really got the chance to eat with a fork and knife that often, so it was taking up a great deal of her concentration just to cut up her own food.

"Well, that sounds exciting!" Jack's mom pitched in. "What are you two planning?"

"We're building a wave machine," Jack began to explain, "But since we're not allowed to use-"

"Your mother was talking to Kimiko." His father coolly interrupted, never looking up from his plate. Jack's face visibly fell, but kept his body language the exact same.

"Uhh… Well, like Jack said we're building a wave machine!" Kimiko stalled, mind reeling. "I mean, you know how good Jack is with electronics…" A quick look from Jack told her she had done something wrong.

"No, we didn't know that." His father said, finally looking up from his food to glare at Jack.

"Oh, he didn't tell you?" Kimiko was astounded. All of Jack's intellect and genius plans and robots, and his parents didn't know a thing? "He was the first in our class to get the electrical circuits to even work. He's practically some sort of genius." she said, quickly correcting her mistake. Glancing at Jack, she saw relief flash on his face, proving that she said the right thing.

"Ohhh, great job sweetie!" His mother doted on him. The meal had come to a stand-still as everyone had finished their plates. Mr. and Mrs. Spicer shared a look. "You know, Kimiko." Jack's mother began. "You look like you're an appreciator of the arts."

"Well, I don't really think I would say app-" Kimiko began

"Let me show you our art collection! Follow me upstairs, the boys can get the dishes done by themselves." Mrs. Spicer interrupted, standing up. She left the room, glancing over her shoulder to make sure Kimiko was following.

Kimiko didn't like this situation at all, but really saw no other option than to follow as the somewhat portly woman led her out of the room. Taking one last glance at Jack, she saw a look of dread cross his face.

She was treated to an extensive collection of expensive-looking art from artists and time periods she had never heard of. They had spent a good six or seven minutes walking through the collection when the phone rang. Checking the caller ID, Mr. Spicer shot an apologetic look at Kimiko.

"Is it all right if I take this?" She asked. Kimiko got the impression that she would pick up the phone no matter what her opinion was.

"Yeah, that's totally fine. In fact, I sort of need to use the restroom." She lied.

"Down the hall, second door on the right, sweetie." Mrs. Spicer said, picking up the receiver. She was introducing herself to the man on the other end, and, as soon as she wasn't paying attention, Kimiko made her way back downstairs.

"I'm already tired of hearing your voice. Do you ever shut up? Honestly, to think I raised something like you." She heard Jack's father saying. Stopping in her tracks, she felt like heading inside wasn't the best option. Instead she waited for a break in the conversation where it would be acceptable for her to enter.

"I'll be moving out this summer. I don't know if you even remember, but I am eighteen now. I'm heading to college this fall." Jack said, sounding utterly downtrodden as he continued to wash dishes.

"Well if you expect any money from your mother and I, you have another thing coming, mister. If you think that I'm spending a dime on you, you're sorely mistaken." Kimiko winced at Mr. Spicer's lack of care for Jack. She never knew what Jack's parents were like, but she definitely didn't expect this.

"I got a scholarship." Jack stated respectfully. Kimiko was surprised. She thought he was lying about college. It didn't seem like the evil boy genius would be interested in furthering his education.

"Oh." His father said, his lecture cut short. "Good. That's good. But I expect you to change your behavior at college. No pulling stunts like this."

"Like what?" Jack asked, obviously confused.

"Bringing that slut over. Don't you think you've fooled me, I can tell why she's really here."

"K-Kimiko's not a slut." Jack sputtered.

"Yeah, and she's in AP physics too." His father said, rolling his eyes. "Honestly, she must have had the IQ of a squirrel."

"Kimiko's one of the smartest people I know." Jack said, defending her.

"Don't lie to me, Jack!" His father snapped, breaking the glass he was drying. He swore loudly and threw the broken glass into the sink Jack was using, obviously disregarding his son's safety. "That girl was struggling to use her utensils correctly. If you're that desperate to lose your virginity before college, well, go nuts." He goaded. Kimiko felt her cheeks turning red with fury. Not only was she being insulted, but she couldn't do anything about it. She found it ironic how the only person who could save her name was Jack.

"I don't know if you've noticed, Dad, but she's Japanese. She uses chopsticks for most of her meals. And I don't really appreciate you talking about Kimiko like that, she's perfectly capable o-"

WHACK!

Kimiko stifled a large gasp. Mr. Spicer rubbed his hand while jack held his burning cheek. "Don't you _ever_ talk to me like that again. Do you hear me?" He asked, turning back to the dishes. Jack nodded and followed suit. Kimiko felt rage swell up inside her. What kind of man could do that to his own son? How long had Jack been putting up with this? It was the single, most despicable thing she had ever seen, and she decided she had seen enough.

"Hey, do you guys need any help with the dishes?" She asked in a carefree voice, walking into the kitchen, trying to keep any sign of her eavesdropping away from her face.

"As a matter of fact, Kimiko, I believe I can handle the rest. You and Jack can get started on your project now." Mr. Spicer said, giving her a perfectly casual smile as if not a thing was wrong in the world. Kimiko felt like she wanted to hurl. How could he just act like nothing happened? It took a great deal of her self control to keep herself from punching him square in the jaw.

"Uhhhhm…all right." She said, following Jack silently down the hallway. Jack could sense her tension and knew she had been listening in. He eventually led them both through a door and into the basement, shutting it behind them.

"About time you guys got here. You know, your bots serve up an excellent turkey leg." Dojo said, waving his food in front of the duo. He noticed the tension between them, though, and his personality quickly deflated.

Jack mumbled some excuse about going to change and made his way to a door in the corner.

"Dinner didn't go too well, huh?" Dojo asked Kimiko, but she was already following Jack to his room. Making her way over, she quickly knocked on the closed door. She patiently waited as Jack came to the door, already wearing his black jeans.

"What is it?" He asked. After a pointed glare from Kimiko, he let her inside, knowing that he wasn't going to worm his way out of this conversation. Continuing to his dresser, he quickly pulled out a sleeveless t-shirt. "So, how much did you see?" He asked, turning his back to her.

"Enough to realize that your dad's a dick." She said, sitting on his bed, taking in his room. It was mostly black, which didn't surprise her. The bed was unmade, and the desk was messy. She saw he had a skylight, though, which made sense, since this seemed to be an extension and not technically underneath the house. Some light from the sun was falling on a pile of crumpled papers with complicated-looking designs on them.

"Yeah, well," Jack said, pulling off the gray polo. He turned around slightly, and Kimiko saw the edges of his six-pack. _Six-pack? Why are you even looking at that? _She reprimanded herself. Looking back at his face, she realized Jack was at a loss for words. Pulling on his shirt, he continued. "I'm really sorry if anything he said upset you. I mean, he didn't mean to offend anyone. He just likes pushing my buttons."

Kimiko sat motionless for a moment. Then she exploded. "You think I'm upset because of what he said about ME?" She demanded. "Jack, your father just hit you! That's not something you can just shrug off!"

"Well," Jack shrugged, ignoring her statement, "It's not like it's anything new. Besides, he won't be around for long. He and mom are leaving tonight. They shouldn't be a problem for a while, so that should help us with our planning." He said, desperate to change the subject. Kimiko wasn't buying it though. She marched over to him, forcing him to look at her. She saw that he was actually bleeding, a bruise already forming on his cheekbone. He flinched, not wanting anyone to see him this weak.

"Come on," she said, grabbing his hand, intending on dragging him into the restroom to clean his wound up. Something wet on his hand stopped her, though, and she looked down. She realized that it was blood. The broken cup his father had thrown at him must have cut him pretty well. Looking up at Jack, she found him smiling down at her apologetically. She finally managed to get him to the restroom and told him to wash his hands. He did so, and then sat down on the toilet as she rummaged around for something to disinfect the wound.

"You know, you don't have to do this." Jack said.

"Nonsense. We're a team now, as you so graciously pointed out. We have to stick together." She said as she found a bottle of hydrogen peroxide. In actuality, she was doing it because she felt guilty. The two were arguing about her, and, as a result, Jack got hit. It was the least she could do to fix him up. "Besides," she continued, "How are you supposed to build any robots with your hands all messed up?" She said, finishing swabbing them down and continuing to his face. She carefully dabbed at his cut as she saw his facial muscles twinge in response to the sting.

"No, I mean, you really don't have to do this." He said, reaching into his pocket, retrieving the Unicorns Horn. Saying its name, he quickly cleared up his wounds, his skin magically knitting itself before their eyes. Kimiko felt her cheeks rush red; she had forgotten that he had a healing Shen Gong Wu. Standing up, Jack made his way to the door, past a very discontented Kimiko.

"But," he hesitated, not really sure how to phrase what he was feeling. "Thanks for…. You know…. It's sort of nice to know that someone… someone cares." He finished awkwardly, scratching the back of his head.

Kimiko's heart swelled up. Jack Spicer was supposed to be their enemy, but none of the Xiaolin warriors had ever really _hated_ him. Sure, he was irritating and obnoxious, and sometimes they were annoyed with him, but they never hated him. Seeing him like this, Kimiko realized that, with Wuya gone, Jack really didn't have anyone besides his bots. With the home life he led, she doubted he ever felt like anybody was there for him. She couldn't fathom how lonely it would be with no real human interaction. No family to turn to. No friends. Just robots. And yet Jack still seemed like his normal idiotic self just moments ago. The silence continued, and Jack pushed off of where he was leaning on the doorframe. He was just about to head into the lab when he felt arms wrap around his waist.

Looking down, he realized that Kimiko was hugging him, her face in his chest.

"I'm here now." She murmured, almost to herself. Jack held his arms awkwardly in the air for a moment, and then gave in, setting them around her shoulders. After a few moments Kimiko unraveled herself from him. "Now, c'mon. We have some serious planning to do if we have a hope of going up against the Heylin forces." She said, walking back to the lab, breaking the tension.

Jack stood still, and then followed her out, trying to keep a grin off of his face.

* * *

Just so you all know, I didn't make up the Unicorn's Horn. It was a healing Shen Gong Wu that was evidently part of the trading cards released at one point. I'm trying not to introduce any new elements into this story. Plus if it was my own creation, it would have a more obscure name, something like the Pendant of Xehan or something ridiculous like that. Anyway, until next time, Dysphoniq.


	5. Chapter 5

"So, what are we up against?" Kimiko asked, settling into a chair across the desk from Jack. "I still have no idea what they're planning. I mean, the attack just came out of nowhere."

"Well," Jack struggled, not knowing where to begin. "For starters, Master Monk Guan is evil again."

"What? No! That can't be right!" Kimiko denied. There was no way that one of the most powerful of the Xiaolin monks was taken to the Heylin side. Again.

Sighing, Jack tapped on the desk. It was in fact an interactive display and he pulled a video up, showing it as a hologram. It was the same footage that first led him to the plot, the footage where Master Monk Guan was turned to the dark side. Kimiko watched in horror as he was subdued, and shuddered when Chase stared into the camera.

"What does it even mean?" She asked. "Do you have any idea what their plan is?"

"That's what I've been working on the last few months. Doing some research, asking around. I finally figured out what's going on."

"So just tell me already!" Kimiko demanded, hating the suspense.

"Hold on, now, you're going to need some back story." He started. "Now, you know Hannibal Bean, right?"

"Only the guy who turned Chase Young, greatest of the Xiaolin monks, into a Heylin overlord." Kimiko responded sarcastically.

"Right, well, do you know who he really is?" After a confused look from Kimiko, he continued. "Hannibal wasn't always a bean. He wasn't a person, either. He was a person's Heylin side. Like, all of their evil, all of their hatred, everything that person wanted to hide. He was like the opposite of a conscience. Sort of like a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde sort of deal. His name back in the day was Huaishi.

"But the human with Huaishi inside of him wanted to be good. In fact, he wanted to be the best 'good guy' there ever was, so there wasn't any room for a bad side. So, to enhance the Xiaolin, he expelled the Heylin. Simple, really."

"Is this going anywhere Jack?" Kimiko asked. The explanation was nice and all, but she didn't see the point of a history lesson right now.

"Well, the man that Huashi used to reside in… was Grand Master Dashi."

"What?" Kimiko asked, mind reeling. If Hannibal used to be a part of the most powerful man to ever live, what does that say about him? It explained why the Xiaolin warriors never seemed to win in a fight against the over-sized vegetable. She mulled over what she had learned. "You still haven't explained what their plan is." She pointed out. After what she had heard already, though, she had a feeling that she wouldn't like it.

"Well," Jack began to explain, finally getting to tell someone the fruits of his months of research, "Hannibal felt like he had the worse end of the bargain. After all, he never did receive a human body. So he tried to find a way to get Dashi's. That's why he turned Chase Young evil in the first place. But once Dashi died, there was no hope of getting his body."

"Right. So, why does it matter now?" Kimiko asked.

"Because Grand Master Dashi never died." Jack revealed.

"No, that's impossible." Kimiko stated. There were quite a few things that she was already skeptical about, but this beat them all. There was no way that the monks' idol was alive 1500 years after his alleged death, and hadn't revealed himself yet.

"Oh, but it is. I found out a story of an old and noble monk who made his way into the mountains and went into a deep meditation, one that he could sustain for thousands of years. If that's true, that means that Hannibal could get Dashi's body before he became conscious. Then it would be a snap for Chase, Wuya, Guan, and Huashi to form the Heylin dragons." Jack explained. Kimiko raised an eyebrow. "Exactly like the Xiaolin dragons, but… evil." He reiterated.

Kimiko took a few moments to let his words sink in. Chase Young, Master Monk Guan, Wuya, and an evil Dashi, all together, joining forces to rule the world. The mere idea of it made her shudder. She felt a pain as she realized that she didn't even have her friends to help her. All she had was a scaredy-cat dragon and a robot dweeb who lived in his parents' basement.

"Why did they attack the temple?" She asked, thinking about the other three dragons-in-training. If they were here right now, they would be coming up with a plan together, and everything would be all right. Instead, she was scheming with the boy that was supposed to be one of their arch-enemies.

"For you guys. The quicker you were out of the way, the better. Plus they needed the Coalescing Diadem." Kimiko thought of the tiara-like Shen Gong Wu. If she was remembering correctly, it gave you the ability to merge your consciousness with somebody else's, giving you complete control of their body while yours was left unattended. It made sense, that if Hannibal wanted a body, he needed that Shen Gong Wu. "It's only a matter of time," Jack continued, "until they realize that, to make it permanent, they need the Talisman of Xian." He said, gesturing to the Shen Gong Wu in question. It hung harmlessly on the wall, as if it had nothing to do with the chaos that was about to engulf the world.

"What does it even do?" Kimiko asked. She never did have the chance to look it up in the ancient scroll.

"Basically, it allows you to tweak or enhance a Shen Gong Wu's power. I've mainly been using it to hook the Wu up to my bots. It's pretty handy though. It's how I got the entire aircraft to go in camo mode."

"Shroud of Shadows?"

"Mask of Rio, actually. I couldn't get the shroud to mask anything on the inside of the craft. So anybody in it would just be sitting ducks."

Kimiko found the idea of someone flying around with seemingly no help from any gadgets oddly amusing. It would be a stupendous sight, that's for sure. "So," she said, trying to break out of her giddiness, "What do we do now?"

"Well, I guess we wait for Dojo to come back and see what he can tell u-" Jack was cut short by the tiny dragon barreling into his lair.

Gasping, dojo managed to catch his breath again. "It was terrible! Horrible! Excruciating!" He screamed, panicking.

"Calm down, Dojo," Kimiko soothed him, used to his theatrical antics. "What did you see?"

"The whole place, burned down! There's nothing left! Do know how many times I've had to rebuild those temples!?" He seemed to pull himself back on track. "And Omi! Raimundo! Clay! Ohhh, the horror! They were barely breathing! And Chase! He took them to his lair, just like that! After that, I high-tailed it outa there. There's no way I'm going anywhere close to that freak. _This_ dragon does _not_ want to become soup."

Dojo continued to ramble on as Jack and Kimiko went back to planning.

"So, if they're really in Chase's lair, then I guess we're back to square one." Jack stated.

"What's square one?"

"Finding Dashi before the Heylins do."

* * *

A/N: Well, after an extended hiatus, it's about time I get back to this story. Apologies to all who waited, and I hope you're still around to read the rest of the story! Love you guys for sticking with me, Dysphoniq.


	6. Chapter 6

Jack and Kimiko laid out the plan in front of them. Thanks to Jack's research, they had a fairly good idea of where Dashi was hiding. Unfortunately, he could only get them within a couple of miles, and, because he was most likely hiding in a cave, they would have to do some major legwork for the monk. They began by pulling up files upon files of ancient Chinese scrolls from around the area Dashi was said to go missing.

"Honey?! You're father and I are leaving now! I put the leftovers in the fridge!" Jack's mom cut in over the intercom, breaking Jack and Kimiko's concentration.

Pushing a few buttons, Jack responded. "Okay, mom. See you in a few days."

"Yeah, I'll miss you sweetheart. Love you tons." She responded.

"Umm, yeah, love you too." Jack murmured, embarrassed. Kimiko tried and failed to keep herself from chuckling, earning a glare from Jack. As soon as the transmission cut out, he visibly relaxed, knowing that his parents were gone for the weekend.

"So, how about some food you guys?" He directed towards Dojo and Kimiko. The dragon was more than willing to have another meal, and Kimiko was feeling rather peckish, so they followed him upstairs. Digging in the pantry, Jack managed to find some cereal. "There," He said, "Dinner of champions."

Kimiko rolled her eyes at him. Used to the strict regimen of training, she hadn't had unusual meals in quite a long time. Still, she really did miss cereal. She finally caved and poured herself a bowl. There was an awkward silence as the duo dug in.

"So," Kimiko said, breaking the silence, "college?"

"Hmm? Oh, graduated." Jack said around a mouthful of cereal.

"Wait, what?" Kimiko asked, lost for words.

"I got my Bachelor's last year. Not that my parents knew a thing. I took most of it online." He said, still paying attention to his cereal.

"Wait, so, you like have a degree and everything?" She asked.

"Yup. Still not sure what I want my Master's in, so I decided to take a year off. Focus on the Shen Gong Wu and everything." He said, drinking the milk at the bottom of his cereal. Smacking his lips, he looked up to see Kimiko's astonished expression. "What?" he asked, "Evil _genius_, remember?" He said, wiggling his eyebrows at her.

Kimiko rolled her eyes at his antics. Still, she was impressed. She had been supplementing their learning at the temple with online classes for a while now and she was planning on graduating highschool at the end of this semester, what would be the end of her junior year. To think that Jack finished high school, let alone college, was a mind boggler.

"Well, that's all fine and dandy. You know, if you wanna settle down and do normal things, be my guest. It would make Shen Gong Wu sightings a lot easier." Dojo said, finally finishing his own bowl.

"Haha, yeah, I guess I can be a real jerk about those sometimes, huh." Jack said, his face softening. He snapped back to reality and realized that two of his worst enemies were in the room. "Not that I'm going to let up. After this catastrophe's over, it's back to the same old, same old." He taunted.

"I wouldn't expect anything less." Kimiko said, standing up and stretching.

"Hey, you got anything else to eat?" Dojo asked. Finishing his own bowl, he slithered over to the fridge. Poking his head in, he dug out the leftovers that Jack's mother had mentioned.

"Careful Dojo. You're starting to look just ripe enough for some Loa-Ming-Long soup." Kimiko teased him, poking at his belly. The dragon slowly replaced the container back into the fridge.

"You know, I've been thinking about going on a diet recently." The dragon joked, laughing nervously. Since he didn't feel like eating anything, he didn't really have anything else to do. "So," he asked, "are we heading out to find Dashi then?"

"But… it's dark out." Jack whined. Catching himself, he cleared his throat. "We'll, uh, wait for tomorrow. Besides, we still have some more planning to do." He said, leading them both downstairs again. Dojo mumbled at how boring this night was going to be if all they did was look at holograms of ancient scrolls.

Taking their same spots, Jack and Kimiko went back to work, scanning hundreds of documents for allusions to the lost Grand Master. Looking up a few hours later, Kimiko realized that Dojo had fallen asleep. Glancing over at Jack, she saw that he was concentrating intently on the image he was studying. Rubbing his temples, he grumbled to himself when that particular document held nothing of value, and he quickly switched to the next one.

Kimiko couldn't stand it anymore and got up. Roaming around the room, she wandered to the huge television and couch. Flicking the tv on, she wondered when Jack even had the time to use it. The logo that greeted her sent a wave of excitement through her.

"No way," She said, looking back at Jack, "You have Goo Zombies 6? My dad hasn't even been able to ship this to me yet!"

Jack glanced up from his studies and smirked at Kimiko. "I have my resources." he said, turning back to the pages.

"C'mon. Let's play a round. I mean, it's been forever since I've been able to play on a console." It was true. At the temple all they had was her laptop and PDA, nothing fancy enough to run a high powered game like this. She pouted at Jack, and he finally conceded.

"Fine. One game. And then it's back to finding Dashi." He said, walking over to the couch, he picked up a controller and flopped down, resting his feet on the coffee table.

"Dibs on first controller!" Kimiko called, sitting next to him on the couch. They waited patiently through the loading screens. Soon, they were in an all out brawl, neither side willing to admit the other was the more avid gamer. The timer ran out, and Kimiko emerged from the battle victorious.

"Woo! In your face, Jack Spicer!" She called, sneering at the boy sitting next to her.

"No way, I call rematch!" He demanded, a hint of his old whiny voice showing.

"What was that about only one game? You want _another_ chance at a humiliating defeat?"

"No, I want a chance to whoop your ass." He said, adamant.

"Oh, it's on!"

They waited through the loading screens a second time and this time Jack emerged victorious. Furious, Kimiko demanded a tie-breaker. The duo continued to play well into the night, screaming profanities at one another, laughing, and never winning more than one or two matches in a row. They were waiting to start what might have been their 16th or 17th battle when Jack felt something on his shoulder. Looking down, he saw Kimiko leaning against him. Blushing, he realized that she had fallen asleep, right then and there. Glancing at his watch he realized that it was 1:30 in the morning, and that he should be going to bed soon as well, but something kept him from shaking the girl awake.

He turned off the console, and a blue light was cast from the TV. He stared at her face, taking in how much she had grown in the past few years. She wasn't the kid he knew any longer. He had to admit it; she was starting to look beautiful. It may have been the fact that she was the only girl he enjoyed talking to, or maybe because they had finally gotten along for more than a few minutes, but Jack was beginning to think that he was… attracted to her. As he thought this, she shifted, and he froze, worried he would be caught staring at her. She just mumbled something incoherently and shifted her weight a little, scooting even closer to him.

Jack took that moment to make a snap decision. Swiftly and smoothly, he picked Kimiko up bridal style, her head still resting on his shoulder. She was surprisingly light, and Jack found no struggle at all bringing the girl to the stairs. Climbing them, he made his way to his old bedroom, the one his parents still thought he inhabited. He shifted her weight to one arm as he opened the door and brought her inside. He pulled back the covers and laid the petite girl on his bed. Covering her up with the blanket, he quietly left the room, silently shutting the door behind him, convinced that he could leave these newfound feelings behind as well.

* * *

A/N: And guess who's still avoiding the plot! That's right. This girl. Okay, the next chapter isn't going to be filler, I swear. Again, reviews are always appreciated, and thanks for reading, Dysphoniq.


	7. Chapter 7

Jack grumbled to himself as he picked his way carefully after Kimiko. They had left first thing in the morning (after Dojo had nearly cleared out the Spicer's fridge) and were deep in some forest, and Jack couldn't even use his helipack to avoid obstacles. They were stuck trekking up the side of a mountain covered in vegetation, looking for caves that may or may not hold a 1500 year old man.

"This is stupid." He said to himself, dodging some trees as he followed Dojo and Kimiko a few paces ahead.

"It was your plan!" Kimiko called over her shoulder. She herself was getting upset that they were having no luck at all. On top of that, she had borrowed clothes from Jack that morning, and was wearing an old pair of two-toned skinny jeans and a baggy Goo-Zombies shirt. Not that she didn't look cute, but it was getting warm and she wished she had her old monk robe on. Too bad it was torn in several places and covered in blood.

Dojo was beside himself with worry. "You know," he started. "I don't really remember Dashi's death all that much. I mean I always assumed I just blocked it out, like the Great Depression or that stint in the eighties. But maybe he MADE me forget, you know? Like_, erased my memory_!" He said the last sentence in a ghostly voice, trying to add drama to his predicament.

"Or you just forgot." Kimiko said offhandedly. Hey all knew Dojo's ability to recollect events from Dashi's time, including the locations of the Shen Gong Wu. "You know what? That's it!" She exclaimed, staring at the small dragon. Both Jack and Dojo looked at her with a confused expression.

"That's what?" Jack finally asked.

"If we could get Dojo to remember where Dashi went, we could save ourselves a lot of time!" She said.

"Exactly my thoughts." Said a cold voice from behind Kimiko. Whipping around, she saw Chase Young descending from the mountains. "It seems," He said, this time directing his words to Dojo, "That you will once again prove useful to my ventures."

"Well, uhh, I appreciate the offer and everything, Chase, but I, uhh… erp!" Dojo stammered, hiding behind Jack for protection.

"Come now, Dojo, it would be best if you came with me peacefully." He said, calmly weaving his way down to their level. The path he chose was extremely steep, but was absolutely no problem for the Heylin monk to pick his way down the rocks.

"Over my dead body." Kimiko said, cutting in. She felt her element bubbling up inside of her and screaming to escape her and burn her poor victim. Crying "Wudai mars, fire!" She sent a wave of flames at Chase. The heat was nearly unbearable, even for her. The element had been festering inside of her for a full day, and she felt like she needed to let it out, badly. Chase felt the full brunt of that force, and he must have been scorched for nearly 20 seconds straight.

He emerged from the fire, unharmed and laughing. Kimiko looked flustered. She had put everything she had into that attack. Chase didn't look like he had broken a sweat.

"Now, now. You really think that _that_ would be sufficient enough to subdue an ex-dragon of fire?" Chase asked with a sneer, stepping closer to the trio.

"Dragon of Fire?" Kimiko sputtered, "But, you were… you were always after Omi. I thought you were the dragon of water."

"Oh, come on. It really isn't that difficult. Everyone needs their opposite. Why do you think Wuya was so keen on Dashi or Raimundo? I mean, she was obviously the dragon of-"

"Earth." He was interrupted by Wuya herself as she strutted into view. "Yes, yes, this is all VERY riveting. Now, Chase; when were you going to tell me that we had _guests_?" She asked, eying up her opponents. She and Chase had disagreed on how to treat the Xiaolin dragons, and if she had her way, Kimiko would be no more than a puddle on the ground. Still, he insisted that they were still needed, so she restrained herself.

"I was going to inform you in time." He began to explain.

"Of course you were, Chase. Just like you were _going_ to restore me to full power." She cooed at him. He rolled his eyes at her, as she desperately attempted to, once again, try to earn her old powers back. Not only did Chase have no intention of restoring her back to her true power any time soon, but he also couldn't. He had explained that they needed everyone in order for it to work.

"I've told you umpteenth times, you old hag, be _patient_." They continued to bicker until Kimiko cleared her throat.

"So, unmm, since you need us all, why don't you just bring the other dragons here?" She asked with a smile, going for the long shot. She was disappointed however, as the evil duo turned back to her.

"Now, why would we do that? If you really want to see them again, we can always take you to go visit. I mean, at least this time they're _all_ in cells. Raimundo doesn't even get any special treatment this time, the poor soul."

"Shut up." Kimiko said, feeling anger bubbling up inside of her.

"Well, I mean, if he offered himself up to the dark side, we wouldn't even take him. His lost his… _usefulness_. He doesn't even seem as fun as he used to." She continued, knowing that Raimundo's old betrayal was still a pressure point among the monks.

"Shut up." Kimiko said again, trying and failing to restrain her emotions.

"Ooh, look like someone doesn't like me taunting their boyfriend. You two really do make the perfect couple, the superstar wannabe and the girl who can't control her temper." Wuya taunted, knowing that she was hitting all the right buttons.

"Shut up!" Kimiko yelled, throwing all her might into attacking Wuya. They grappled for a while until they disengaged, each sporting a few bruises and cuts. They noticed nothing, but the three bystanders had felt the ground shake.

"You. Insolent. Little. _Brat!" _Wuya yelled. "I'll show you whose-" suddenly she stopped, noticing what was happening. She giggled with glee as she realized that her element was back. She attempted to summon her rock minions, but was only rewarded with some stirring. Trying harder, she received the same result until….

"Look out!" Jack cried. The rest were screaming as several tons of rock rolled down the mountain side. The last of the rocks tumbled into place and no trace of the monks from either side could be found.

* * *

A/N: Well, that didn't go well at all, now did it? As always, thanks for reading, reviews are awesome, and see you next time, ~Dysphoniq.


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